On the surface Russian family Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko appear like any other ordinary couple, but for their 23-year-old bear named Stepan. Standing at more than seven foot, the 300lb mammal is so domesticated the family often sit down together in the evenings to watch television. And the bear, which was adopted by the couple when he was three months old, has even been known to help out around the house__________________Tammy Barney

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Virunga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has 600 dedicated rangers and two of them snapped the heart-warming series of selfies (left and right). One shows the gorillas standing upright behind the men, while another titled 'family time' shows one of the rangers, Patrick Sadiki with the primates, Ndakasi and Matabishi cuddling up to him. The latest picture, posted on Thursday, garnered over 12 thousand likes and 14 thousand shares on Facebook.

__________________Tammy Barney

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

US paratroopers have been practicing ahead of the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings by jumping from a C-130 sporting the black and white stripped markings used by allied aircraft on June 6, 1944. Some 24,000 airborne troops landed across Normandy shortly after midnight, passing over the main invasion force as it steamed towards the beach. The paratroopers were ordered to hold strategic locations, disrupt communications and prevent reinforcements from arriving at the beaches while the main invasion force came ashore.

Photographers have just one day left to get their entries submitted to the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest. But they will have to be of exceptional quality if they are to eclipse any of these recently entered images. The set includes a dramatic image of rhinos drinking from a watering hole in Africa while lightning blazes above (top), an aerial shot of the mighty Mount Fuji in Japan (bottom left) and a foggy sunrise in Hong Kong (bottom right).

Simply called Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, the remarkable photograph is a composite of 50 individual images - selected from a total of 2,200 - taken by American photographer Stephen Wilkes over 26 hours in the spectacular park. The result of his patience and stamina - he didn't sleep during the process - is truly magical as day turns to night, from the right of the picture towards the setting sun on the left.

An eagle-eyed photographer managed to capture the moment a spooky-looking face emerged from the waves of Lake Erie. Trevor Pottelberg, 42, was able to snap the incredible images while taking pictures in Port Stanley, Ontario, after the winds blew stronger which whipped up the 30ft waves. The Canadian photography lecturer admitted to being gobsmacked when he picked the face out of the lashing waves.

Photographer Andy Seliverstoff, 58, spent four months taking pictures in St. Petersburg, Russia, for a book called 'Little Kids and Their Big Dogs'. The photos show children under 2ft with their Great Danes and Newfoundlands high-fiving their enormous family pets, running alongside them and even riding their beloved dogs as if they were a horse. Pictured top left: Matthew, who is not yet two, shown gently patting the face of a long-haired St Bernard named Misha that wighs 15 stone and is 92 centimetres tall. Pictured top right: Four-and-a-half year old Gregory puts an arm around Krispy, a Briad who weighs six and a half stone. Pictured bottom left: Theodore aged three, who is pictured riding his Newfoundland Ringo, who weighs almost 12 stone. Pictured bottom right: Alice, aged one year seven months, with Great Dane Sean, who weighs 13 stone and is 95cm tall.

__________________Tammy Barney

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

New book Greatest Landscapes: Stunning Photographs that Inspire and Astonish from National Geographic, showcases some of the most iconic landscapes in the society's archives. From stunning landscape scenes in San Francisco, Iceland and Namibia to wildlife shots of colourful fish and polar bears among melting ice the book takes readers on a spectacular visual journey.

__________________Tammy Barney

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

A rare 'super bloom' of wildflowers in Death Valley National Park has covered the hottest and driest place in North America with a carpet of gold, attracting tourists from all over the world and enchanting visitors with a stunning display from nature's paint brush.

While the California desert valley does see some flowering each spring, a bloom of this magnitude is extremely unusual and happens about once every decade, with the last super bloom taking place in 2005, and the time before that was in 1998.

The event has been triggered by three very rare rainstorms in the first two weeks of October, that left behind more than three inches of rain in some parts of the valley, triggering millions of dormant flower seeds.

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Flourishing: Tourists enjoy rare 'super bloom' of wildflowers near Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California, which has covered the hottest and driest place in North America with a carpet of gold

The rare phenomenon occurs when the setting sun lines up and shines on the waterfall running down El Capitan. Temperatures have to be high enough to melt the snow on top of the rock formation, and any precipitation or clouds can obscure the fiery glow

Photographers around the world flocked to Yosemite National Park in California this week to catch the incredible natural phenomenon known as Firefall. This photo, taken on Valentines Day shows a subtle heart shape caused by the mist of Horsetail Falls

The rare phenomenon occurs when the setting sun lines up and shines on the waterfall running down El Capitan. Temperatures have to be high enough to melt the snow on top of the rock formation, and any precipitation or clouds can obscure the fiery glow

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES. This image, taken on a roadside in Dallas at the weekend, shows a Great Pyrenees refusing to leave the side of his friend who appears to have been hit by a car. Local animal volunteers rushed to the scene and took both dogs away. 'He's obviously being loyal to a friend who passed away and he's mourning,' animal advocate Julie Fennel told NBC. 'It really looks like (the other dog) was hit in the road, you can see the blood in the road, and it looks like he drug her up onto the grass out of the road.'

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